"Green politicians exhibit their ignorance by campaigning to ban irradiated food," says Peter Cresswell, Libertarianz spokesman on deregulation of the environment.

Irradiation, he says, has been around for over 50 years and is now widely used overseas, offering many benefits to consumers and manufacturers including the safe control of food spoilage bacteria in spices, poultry and meat. Given that New Zealand has one of the highest rates of Campylobacter food poisoning, one would have thought anyone would jump at the chance to use a preservative-free means of ensuring safe wholesome food."

Irradiated food contains no radioactivity and does not lose significant levels of nutrients, as claimed by some activists. In fact, evidence suggests that some irradiated food has higher bio-available levels of riboflavin and folic acid.

"The green politicians have again decided to overlook the potential benefits of the technology," he says, "ignoring both the freedom of manufacturers to choose their own food processing techniques and the freedom of consumers to decide for themselves."

ENDS

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